Civil society organizations, unions, and associations working to secure safe, sustainable, and equitable fisheries in Ghana have written to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development seeking clarity on the potential authorization of two industrial trawlers in Ghanaian waters.
The move follows the circulation of a letter purportedly detailing a request by DUMA FARMS AND FISHERIES LTD. that the vessels SHUN FENG 906 and SHUN FENG 907 have been granted licenses pending approval by the Fisheries Minister and the Ghana Maritime Authority.
The organisations say they are gravely concerned at the prospect of additional capacity being added to the trawl sector, given that populations of several vital species in Ghana’s waters are already on the brink of collapse.
These include small pelagics such as sardinella and chub mackerel, which are the lifeblood of coastal communities across the country – providing vital food and livelihood security to millions nationwide.
They aver that the worsening ecological and humanitarian crises across Ghana’s coastline are inextricably linked to the presence of poorly regulated foreign industrial trawlers, who have frequently been recorded capturing non-target species, making incursions into fishing zones reserved for canoes and using illegal gears to reduce the selectivity of catch.
The letter by the CSOs states that to grant two additional licenses would be in direct contradiction to the approved draft of the Marine Fisheries Management Plan 2022-2026 (MFMP), in which a three-year moratorium on new entrants to the trawl sector has been proposed in recognition of the overfishing crisis that currently characterizes the fishery.
They contend that as a group of stakeholders, many of whom have participated tirelessly in the process of drafting this plan, they wish to make clear that a breach of the proposed moratorium would strike a considerable blow to the trust that is so vital in the design and implementation of effective fisheries governance.